Birthdays, a Balloon Bash, & the January Give Away

First Post of the Day

It's only January 11, but already we have celebrated two family birthdays.

Lisa's birthday is December 30, but due illness in the family, her celebration was postponed a week.

Craig and I were healthy, though, so we took her out for lunch on her birthday.

We went downtown to The Black Sparrow, a local restaurant in one of the historic downtown buildings so it has a lot of ambiance and charm inside. Plus, all the food is made from scratch and is delicious!

We spent the day together watching football (Illinois played in the Music City Bowl and won!) and had gifts and Hershey pie that evening.

The next Sunday was a big day for both Ian and Mila. In our church, twelve year olds are invited to begin serving during meetings, help on service projects, etc. Ian turns twelve this year and so his name was read to the congregation and then he was sustained by everyone present.

Good night, when did this guy become a young man?? And so tall? I predict that by my birthday in August he will be taller than me. (Although at the rate he is growing, it may be well before that.)

It was also a big day for Mila. She was celebrating her birthday that day!

We gathered that evening at her home for dinner and gifts and then just hung out as a family.

Gus is always delighted when there are more people around who are candidates for throwing a ball for him. I have never seen a dog more obsessed with catching and running after balls.

He will bring one to you and plop it in your lap. 

Ignore it! Don't even push it onto the floor or throw "just one"; Gus will consider that an invitation and repeatedly put balls into your lap. (Ask me how I know that.)

If a ball in your lap doesn't get you to play, then Gus will put the ball in a spot where it is more visible. Just in case you hadn't noticed the bajillion balls that had already been plopped into your lap.

Since this was a birthday party, there were balloons. And suddenly this delightful interchange happened between Gus and Lukie.

That dog is actually batting the balloon with his nose - he's not trying to catch it! He's hitting it back to Lukie!

Both Lisa and Mila's birthdays were celebrated that evening and master cook Curt made their favorite dishes. Lisa asked for carnitas. To enter the January Give Away, guess what he made for Mila. Here are some hints:

~ It is her favorite, most requested dish.

~ It is not a main dish. (Although, if you're Mila it would be! LOL)

~ This dish is often found at picnics.

As always, comment on any blog post (starting with this one) posted between now and Tuesday evening, 1/13 at 11:59 PM Eastern. I'll spin to win on either Wednesday or Thursday. If someone does guess correctly, they will get a special prize but you don't have to guess correctly to win.

What's the prize? I'm still choosing something. 

Stay 'tooned!